6,000 acres of open space on border of Ventura, Los Angeles counties now protected
More than 6,000 acres of open space on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles counties is now part of a protected ecological area, the California Natural Resources Agency has announced.
The largely undeveloped Hathaway/Temescal Ranch property is 40 miles west of downtown Los Angeles and adjacent to both the Angeles National Forest and the Los Padres National Forest between Castaic Reservoir and Lake Piru, the agency said last week.
The property is entirely in north Los Angeles County, but starts at the Ventura County border near Lake Piru, agency spokesman Albert Lundeen said Wednesday. Located within a Los Angeles County "significant ecological area," the site is the largest undeveloped private property in the county.
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The land was acquired in three phases by the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, and transferred to the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, a local public agency dedicated to the preservation and management of local open space. The authority is a partnership between the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the Conejo and Rancho Simi recreation and park districts.
“This is a big deal,” Wade Crowfoot, the state's secretary for natural resources, said in a news release. "This acquisition will help preserve biodiversity, expand outdoor access ... and sequester carbon as we combat climate change."
The property includes wetlands, rolling hills and is within the flight path for condors from the nearby Sespe Condor Sanctuary.
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The newly protected open space will expand wildlife corridors between the San Gabriel, Sierra Madre and Santa Susana mountains, agency officials said.
The California Wildlife Conservation Board was key to acquiring the land and funded almost half of the purchase, including $3.5 million in voter-approved Proposition 117 funds to secure the final phase, they said.
The acquisition moves California a step closer in its effort to conserve 30% of the state’s land and coastal waters by 2030, according to the agency.
Mike Harris covers the East County cities of Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, as well as transportation countywide. You can contact him at mike.harris@vcstar.com or 805-437-0323.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: 6,000 open space acres on county border now protected ecological area
